NOTE: Find UPDATED April 2018 listings here.
April is National Poetry Month, so readings abound. March isn’t too shabby either. And don’t forget to plan ahead for the Mass Poetry Festival the first weekend of May. Thanks as always to Daniel Bouchard for compiling these listings.
Of particular note: Charles Coe and Marge Piercy at Porter Square Books (tonight!); Layli Long Soldier in Cambridge and Providence; Stephanie Burt at the MIT Press Bookstore; Mark Doty in Acton; Joan Houlihan in Cambridge, Boston, and Gloucester; Ocean Vuong at Smith; Martha Collins and my own teacher Kevin Prufer at Porter Square Books; Kazim Ali and Stephanie Burt at Harvard; a Latinx Poetry Reading in Cambridge; Anne Waldman in Providence; and my fellow poet educator Wendy Drexler in JP and Gloucester.
Thursday, March 1, 6-8 pm
Jane Brox, Andrea Cohen, and Natalie Shapero
Salamander 25th anniversary celebration and reading
Suffolk University Poetry Center
Mildred F. Sawyer Library, 3rd floor
Boston, MA
Thursday, March 1, 7 pm
Charles Coe and Marge Piercy
Porter Square Books
25 White Street
Cambridge, MA
Friday, March 2, 6 pm
M. NourbeSe Philip and Cecilia Vicuna
Introduction by Kythe Heller
Edison Newman Room, Houghton Library.
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Friday, March 2, 7 pm
Wendy Chen
Grolier Poetry Book Shop
Plympton Street
Harvard Square
Cambridge, MA
Friday, March 2, 7 pm
Carol Hobbs and Paul Hostovsky
followed by Open Mic
PoemWorks: The Workshop for Publishing Poets
West Suburban YMCA
276 Church St.
Newton, MA
Saturday, March 3, 3 pm
Juan Matos and Rhina P. Espaillat
Powow River Poets Reading Series
Newburyport Public Library
94 State Street
Newburyport, MA
Friday, March 3, 3 pm
Steve Yarbrough, Peter Cherches, and Willie Pleasants
Dire Literary Reading Series
Middle East Restaurant and Nightclub
480 Massachusetts Ave.
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, March 3, 4 pm
Philip Nikolayev and John Hennessy
Poetry Readings at Outpost 186
Outpost 186
186 1/2 Hampshire Street
Cambridge, MA
Sunday, March 4, 1-3 pm
Alice Kociemba and Fred Marchant
Poetry: The Art Of Words
Plymouth Public Library/Otto Fehlow Room
132 South St
Plymouth, MA
Monday, March 5, 7 pm
Nick Montfort, Allison Parrish, John Cayley, Liza Daly
“Author Function” reading: Coordinated with an exhibit of computer-generated printed matter at the MIT Rotch Library
Harvard Book Store
1256 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
Monday, March 5, 8 pm
Matt Miller and Mario Chard
Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, March 6, 7:30 pm
Ellen Doré Watson
Alumnae House Conference Hall
Smith College
Northampton, MA
Tuesday, March 6, 7 – 9 pm
Molly Bennett, Barbara de la Cuesta, Fred Marchant, and Hilary Sallick
NEPC Members with New Books
Harvard-Yenching Library
2 Divinity Avenue
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, March 7, 2 pm
J.D. Scrimgeour
Federal Building – Assembly Room
Middlesex Community College
50 Kearney Square
Lowell, MA
Wednesday, March 7, 7:30 pm
Wendy Drexler, Nancy Esposito and Holly Guran
Gloucester Writers Center
126 East Main Street
Gloucester, MA
Thursday, March 8, 5:30 pm
Carmen Bardeguez-Brown, Elisabet Velasquez
with Victoria Alicea DelValle
Latina Poetry Reading in Celebration of Women’s History Month
Observatorio Cervantes, 2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, March 8, 6 pm
Janet MacFadyen and David Giannini
The Williams Bookstore
81 Spring Street
Williamstown, MA
Thursday, March 8, 8 pm
Julia Carlson and Lee Varon
Stone Soup
Brew on the Grid
93 Windsor Street
Cambridge, MA
Friday, March 9, 7:30 pm
Jonathan Aibel, Ben Berman, and Wendy Drexler
Chapter and Verse Literary Reading Series
Loring-Greenough House
12 South Street (across from the Monument)
Jamaica Plain
Boston, MA
Wednesday, March 14, 6 pm
Conversation with Anne Waldman and Joshua Kotin
Oral History Initiative: On Anne Waldman
Edison Newman Room, Houghton Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, March 14, 7 pm
David Daniel, Duy Doan, and Dona Stein
Poets & Pints – Porter Square Books
Aeronaut Brewing Co.
4 Tyler St
Somerville, MA
Wednesday, March 14, 7:30 pm
Ricki Funkhouser and Soren Stockman
Gloucester Writers Center
126 East Main Street
Gloucester, MA
Friday, March 16, 7 pm
Steven Seidenberg
Grolier Poetry Book Shop
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, March 17, 4 pm
Stephanie Burt and Lynn Melnick
The MIT Press Bookstore
301 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, March 17, 6 pm
Duy Doan Book Launch of We Play a Game, Yale Younger Poets Series
with Tamiko Beyer, Ying-Ju Lai, and Ga Tsung Tsen
Reception to follow
East Meets West Bookstore
934 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA
Sunday, March 18, 2 pm
Angie Estes and Nausheen Eusuf
The Brookline Poetry Series
The Brookline Public Library Main Branch
361 Washington Street
Brookline Village
Brookline, MA
Monday, March 19, 7 pm
Mark Pawlak
MIT, Stata Center, Room 32-141
32 Vassar Street
Cambridge, MA
Monday, March 19, 8 pm
Joan Houlihan and Wyn Cooper
Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, March 20, 7:30 pm
Mark Doty
18th Annual Robert Creeley Award
Acton-Boxborough Regional High School Auditorium
36 Charter Road
Acton, MA
Wednesday, March 21, 7:30, pm
Steven Seidenberg and David Abel
Gloucester Writers Center
126 East Main Street
Gloucester, MA
Wednesday, March 21, 7:30 pm
Alison Adair
Unearthed Song and Poetry
Home.stead Bakery and Cafe
1448 Dorchester Ave.
Fields Corner
Dorchester, MA
Thursday, March 22, 4:15 pm
Layli Long Soldier
Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Sheerr Room, Fay House
10 Garden Street
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, March 22, 5:30 pm
Duy Doan
U Mass Lowell
O’Leary Library, 61 Wilder Street, Room 222
Lowell, MA
Thursday, March 22, 7 pm
Nausheen Eusuf and Paula Bonnell
Rozzie Reads Poetry and Open Mic
Roslindale House
120 Poplar Street
Roslindale, MA
Friday, March 23, 6 pm
Layli Long Soldier
The Bookshop, Level 3
Carpenter Center for the Visual Arts
24 Quincy Street
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Friday, March 23, 7 pm
Michael Franco and Andrea Fry
Grolier Poetry Book Shop
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, March 24, 2 pm
Julia Lisella, Kevin McLellan, and Steven Riel
Boston Public Library, Jamaica Plain Branch
30 South Street
Jamaica Plain, MA
Saturday, March 24, 3:30 pm
“Harriet and William,” a dramatic reading
Holly Guran, Martha Collins, Lloyd Schwartz
School Street Sessions
Omni Parker House Hotel
Boston, MA
Saturday, March 24, 4 pm
Jean Day and Levi Rubeck
The MIT Press Bookstore
301 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
Sunday, March 25, 3 pm
Duy Doan and Ben Purkert
Poetry at the Library Series
Sponsored by the Friends of the Library
Concord Free Public Library
129 Main Street
Concord, MA
Tuesday, March 27, 6 pm
Duy Doan and Rebecca Morgan Frank
Tufts University
Mugar Hall, Room 200
Medford, MA
Tuesday, March 27, 7:30 pm
Ocean Vuong
Alumnae House Conference Hall
Smith College
Northampton, MA
Wednesday, March 28, 7 pm
Martha Collins and Kevin Prufer
Porter Square Books
25 White Street
Cambridge, MA
Friday, March 30, 7 pm
Jodie Hollander and Robert Mezey
Grolier Poetry Book Shop
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA
Friday, March 30, time tba
Carla Schwartz
Arts at the Armory
191 Highland Ave
Somerville, MA
Monday, April 2, 7 pm
Catherine Stearns and Nate Klug
Book launch, reading, and reception
Newtonville Books
10 Langley Rd
Newton, MA
Monday, April 2, 8 pm
Gabrielle Calvocoressi and Gabriel Fried
Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, April 3, 7 pm
Martha Collins and Joan Houlihan
Newtonville Books
10 Langley Road
Newton, MA
Tuesday, April 3, 7 pm
Erica Funkhouser and Stephen Tapscott
MIT, Room 56-154
21 Ames Street
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, April 3, 7 – 9 pm
Cassandra Cleghorn, Helena Minton, Vivian Shipley, and Dianalee Velie
NEPC Members with New Books
Harvard-Yenching Library
2 Divinity Avenue
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, April 3, 7:30 pm
Five College Poetryfest
Alumnae House Conference Hall
Smith College
Northampton, MA
Wednesday, April 4, 6 pm
Kazim Ali and Stephanie Burt
Edison Newman Room, Houghton Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, April 4, 7 pm
K.T. Landon and Moira Linehan
Whitelam Books (a new bookstore!)
610 Main St.
Reading, MA
Wednesday, April 4, 7 pm
Catherine (Kate) Stearns, Heather Bryant, and Lynne Viti
Wellesley Books
82 Central Street
Wellesley, MA
Thursday, April 5, 5:30 pm
Simone White
McCormack Family Theater
70 Brown Street
Providence, RI
Thursday, April 5, 7 pm
Shauna Barbosa
in conversation with Joshua Bell
Brookline Booksmith
Havard Street
Coolidge Corner
Brookline, MA
Friday, April 6, 2-3 pm
Boston National Poetry Month Festival
Joan Houlihan, Charles Coe and George Kalogeris
The Commonwealth Room
Boston Public Library
Boston, MA
Friday, April 6, 7 pm
Wyn Cooper book launch
Porter Square Books
25 White Street
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, April 7, 4 pm
Kevin Gallagher and Sam Cha
Poetry Readings at Outpost 186
Outpost 186
186 1/2 Hampshire Street
Cambridge, MA
Saturday, April 7, 7:30 pm
Everett Hoagland and Candida Rose
Saxy Poetry, Jazzy Song
Cultural Center at Rocky Neck
Gloucester, MA
Sunday, April 8 1-3 pm
10th Anniversary Edition
Ben Berman and Barbara S Carlson
Poetry: The Art Of Words
Plymouth Public Library/Otto Fehlow Room
132 South St
Plymouth, MA
Sunday, April 8, 4 pm
Christina Davis, Wendy Eisenberg, Tanya Larkin, Sandra Lim, and Gilmore Tamny
Sunday Afternoon Rager of Poetry n’ Song
Arts at the Armory Cafe
191 Highland Ave.
Somerville, MA
Monday, April 9, 8 pm
Tom Sleigh and Javier Zamora
Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, April 10, 7:30 pm
Marie Howe and High School Prize Winners
Weinstein Auditorium
Wright Hall
Smith College
Northampton, MA
Wednesday, April 11, 6 pm
Fanny Howe and John Keene
Edison Newman Room, Houghton Library
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Wednesday, April 11, 7:30 pm
Nausheen Eusuf and Matt Miller
Gloucester Writers Center
126 East Main Street
Gloucester, MA
Thursday, April 12, 5:30 pm
Elizabeth Acevedo, Peggy Robles-Alvarado and Laureate Danielle Legros Georges
Latinx Poetry Reading in Celebration of National Poetry Month
Observatorio Cervantes, 2 Arrow Street, 4th Floor
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 12, 5:30 pm
Sarah Galvin
McCormack Family Theater
70 Brown Street
Providence, RI
Friday, April 13, time TBD
Christine Finn on the recordings of Seamus Heaney
Woodberry Poetry Room, Lamont Library, Room 330
Harvard University
Cambridge, MA
Friday, April 13, 5 pm
Tyehimba Jess
MIT, Room 6-120
77 Massachusetts Avenue
Cambridge, MA
Friday, April 13, 7 pm
Anne Waldman and Meredith Monk
Studio 1, Granoff Center for the Creative Arts
154 Angell Street
Providence, RI
Sunday, April 15, 2 pm
Andrea Cohen and Lloyd Schwartz
The Brookline Poetry Series
The Brookline Public Library Main Branch
361 Washington Street
Brookline Village
Brookline, MA
Tuesday, April 17, 7:30 pm
Jane Hirshfield and Natasha Hakimi
Introduced by Robert Pinsky
The Robert Lowell Memorial Poetry Reading Series
Richards-Roosevelt Room, Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center
Mugar Library
Boston University
771 Commonwealth Avenue
Boston, MA
Wednesday, April 18, 7:30 pm
Lillian-Yvonne Bertram
Unearthed Song and Poetry
Home.stead Bakery and Cafe
1448 Dorchester Ave.
Fields Corner
Dorchester, MA
Thursday, April 19, 7 pm
Ellendra Proffer Teasley
Grolier Poetry Book Shop
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 19, 7 pm
Matthew Dickman and Jenny Xiel
Brookline Booksmith
Havard Street
Coolidge Corner
Brookline, MA
Thursday, April 19, 7 – 9 pm
Carla Schwartz and Heather Corbally Bryant
3rd Thursday Poetry
Gallery 55
55 S. Main Street
Natick, MA
Saturday, April 21, 6 pm
Anthony D’Aries and Amy Monticello
IAWA in Boston Presents
Open Mic sign ups at 5:45
I Am Books
189 North Street
Boston, MA
Monday, April 23, 8 pm
Robin Becker and Erica Funkhouser
Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
Tuesday, April 24, 7:30 pm
Favorite Poem Project Reading
Weinstein Auditorium
Wright Hall
Smith College
Northampton, MA
Wednesday, April 25, 7:30 pm
Joan Houlihan and Fred Marchant
The Gloucester Writers Center
126 East Main Street
Gloucester, MA
Thursday, April 26, 5:30 pm
Layli Long Soldier
McCormack Family Theater
70 Brown Street
Providence, RI
Friday, April 27, 7 pm
Luljeta Lleshanaku with Ani Gjika
Grolier Poetry Book Shop
Plympton Street
Cambridge, MA
Thursday, April 26, 7 – 9 pm
Barbara Siegel Carlson
Rozzie Reads Poetry and Open Mic
Roslindale House
120 Poplar Street
Roslindale, MA
Saturday, April 28, 3:30 pm
Giles Li
Spoken word poems/and History of Boston’s Chinatown
Kennedy Room
Omni Parker Hotel
60 School Street
Boston, MA
Monday, April 30, 7 pm
Kiki Petrosino and Lauren Haldeman
(visiting from Kentucky and Iowa)
MassArt, Huntington Room
Design and Media Center
621 Huntington Avenue
Boston, MA
Monday, April 30, 8 pm
Tarfia Faizullah and Jana Prikryl
Blacksmith House Poetry Series
56 Brattle Street
Cambridge, MA
Photo credit: Liz West via Flickr, Creative Commons License 2.0.
Garden of Words 